Mark of a Masterplan (Mark Parsons interview)

Surrey-born Mark Parsons, a one-time Chelsea Ladies reserves coach who took the Washington Spirit job at twenty-six and lifted them from last to successive play-offs, moved west for 2016 to lead the Portland Thorns to first place before the Olympic break. He describes a club with consistent home crowds of fifteen to twenty thousand and a community he has been warmly welcomed into. On integrating France midfielder Amandine Henry he says the effort she made was the best he has seen, learning English at incredible speed and knowing every team-mate’s position before arriving, while the squad had nicknames for her three months in advance. He rates the WSL as slower but more tactical and technical than the NWSL.